System and method for dynamically loading game software for smooth game play

ABSTRACT

A system and method are disclosed for dynamically loading game software for smooth game play. A load boundary associated with a game environment is identified. A position of a character in the game environment is then monitored. Instructions corresponding to another game environment are loaded into a memory when the character crosses the load boundary, such that game play is not interrupted.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Serial No. 60/328,479, filed Oct. 10, 2001 and entitled“Dynamic Loading of Game Software for Smooth Game Play,” which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to electronic entertainment devices andrelates more particularly to a system and method for dynamically loadinggame software for smooth game play.

2. Description of the Background Art

A virtual world represented by game software often includes more thanone environment or level of game play. A character, controllable by theuser, typically begins the game in one environment or level, and thenprogresses to other, often more challenging, environments or levels.Typically there is a pause in game play while the game transitions fromone environment to another. The game screen may momentarily be blank ora “loading” screen may appear while the new environment or level isloaded from the game disc to the game system's memory. Loading timesvary by game, but games with complex environments and characters mayrequire significant loading times. Whether the loading time is short orsignificant, the flow of game play is interrupted.

In order to prevent the blank or loading screen from being displayed toa user, hallway or transition rooms may be presented to the user whilesoftware associated with a new game environment is loaded. Typically,hallway and transition rooms are areas of low detail that a charactertraverses to move between areas of high detail. When the user'scharacter is in the area of low detail, the areas of high detail oneither side of the hallway or the transition room are not shown to theuser. Although this avoids displaying a blank or loading screen to theuser, it is obvious to the user that the user is merely awaiting the newenvironment until real game play can continue.

Use of blank or loading screens, as well as traditional hallways ortransition rooms makes obvious to the user that the user is suspendedfrom actual game play pending the availability of the new environment.This interruption in game play spoils the realism of the game and alertsthe user to a pause in game play.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the invention, a system and method are disclosed fordynamically loading game software for smooth game play. A load boundaryassociated with a game environment is identified. A position of acharacter in the game environment is then monitored. Instructionscorresponding to another game environment are loaded into a memory whenthe character crosses the load boundary, such that game play is notinterrupted.

In a system according to the invention, an environment management engineis configured to identify a load boundary associated with a gameenvironment, monitor the position of a character in the gameenvironment, and load instructions corresponding to another gameenvironment into a memory when the character crosses the load boundary.At least two memory segments are configured to store instructions forthe game environment and to receive and store the instructionscorresponding to the other game environment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of an electronicentertainment system, according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the main memory of FIG.1, according to the invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating dynamic loading of game softwareutilizing the environment management engine of FIG. 2 according to oneembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a process for establishing a loadboundary according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a diagram of exemplary game environments according to oneembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a process for loading game softwarefor the next environment according to one embodiment of the invention;and

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a process for preventing a user fromviewing a non-environment display according to one embodiment of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of an electronicentertainment system 100 according to the invention. System 100includes, but is not limited to, a main memory 110, a central processingunit (CPU) 112, vector processing units VU0 111 and VU1 113, a graphicsprocessing unit (GPU) 114, an input/output processor (IOP) 116, an IOPmemory 118, a controller interface 120, a memory card 122, a UniversalSerial Bus (USB) interface 124, and an IEEE 1394 interface 126. System100 also includes an operating system read-only memory (OS ROM) 128, asound processing unit (SPU) 132, an optical disc control unit 134, and ahard disc drive (HDD) 136, which are connected via a bus 146 to IOP 116.System 100 is preferably an electronic gaming console; however, system100 may also be implemented as, for example, a general-purpose computer,a set-top box, or a hand-held gaming device.

CPU 112, VU0 111, VU1 113, GPU 114, and IOP 116 communicate via a systembus 144. CPU 112 communicates with main memory 110 via a dedicated bus142. VU1 113 and GPU 114 may also communicate via a dedicated bus 140.CPU 112 executes programs stored in OS ROM 128 and main memory 110. Mainmemory 110 may contain prestored programs and may also contain programstransferred via IOP 116 from a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, or other optical disc(not shown) using optical disc control unit 134. IOP 116 controls dataexchanges between CPU 112, VU0 111, VU1113, GPU 114 and other devices ofsystem 100, such as controller interface 120. Although a CPU 112 isdescribed, any other type of processor is within the scope of theinvention.

GPU 114 executes drawing instructions from CPU 112 and VU0 111 toproduce images for display on a display device (not shown). VU1113transforms objects from three-dimensional coordinates to two-dimensionalcoordinates, and sends the two-dimensional coordinates to GPU 114. SPU132 executes instructions to produce sound signals that are output on anaudio device (not shown).

A user of system 100 provides instructions via controller interface 120to CPU 112. For example, the user may instruct CPU 112 to store certaingame information on memory card 122 or may instruct a character in agame to perform some specified action. Other devices may be connected tosystem 100 via USB interface 124 and IEEE 1394 interface 126.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of one embodiment of main memory 110 of FIG.1, according to the invention. Main memory 110 includes, but is notlimited to, game software 202, a memory segment 206, and a memorysegment 208. Game software 202 includes instructions executable by CPU112, VUO 111, VUI 113, and SPU 132 that allow a user of system 100 toplay a game. In the FIG. 2 embodiment, game software 202 is related toan action adventure game in which a user controls a character on ajourney. In other embodiments, game software 202 may be related to anyother type of game, including but not limited to other action adventuregames, a role-playing game (RPG), and a civilization-building simulationgame. Game software 202 also includes an environment management module204.

Memory segment 206 and memory segment 208 are portions of memory 110configured to store game environments. Environment management engine 204loads an environment to memory segment 206 from a disc in optical disccontrol unit 134. Environment management engine 204 loads anotherenvironment to memory segment 208 from the disc. One of memory segment206 and memory segment 208 stores a current environment, while the otherof memory segment 206 and memory segment 208 stores a next environment.Although two memory segments 206, 208 are shown in FIG. 2, any number ofmemory segments is within the scope of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating dynamic loading of game softwareutilizing environment management engine 204 of FIG. 2 according to oneembodiment of the invention. In step 302, environment management engine204 identifies a load boundary associated with the current gameenvironment. The current game environment is generally the environmentthat the character is presently exploring. A load boundary is athreshold that, when reached or crossed by the character, indicates toenvironment management engine 204 that the next environment should beloaded to memory segment 206 or memory segment 208. A process ofestablishing a load boundary during production of game software 202 willbe discussed in conjunction with FIG. 4.

Next, in step 304, environment management engine 204 monitors theposition of a character in the current game environment. In order tomonitor the position of the character, environment management engine 204tracks input of a user. For instance, if the user moves the characterforward, towards the next environment, this input is tracked byenvironment management engine 204. Similarly, if the user moves thecharacter backwards, towards a previously executed environment,environment management engine 204 tracks this input. Accordingly,environment management engine 204 constantly tracks movements of thecharacter in order to determine when the load boundary is crossed, orotherwise reached.

In step 306, environment management engine 204 determines whether theload boundary has been crossed by the character. If the character hasnot crossed the load boundary, environment management engine 204continues to query whether the boundary has been crossed untilenvironment management engine 204 determines that an affirmativeresponse can be returned. When the character has crossed the loadboundary, environment management engine 204 loads a next gameenvironment into the one of memory segment 206 or memory segment 208that does not hold the current game environment, in step 308. The nextgame environment becomes the current game environment when the characterenters the environment. Accordingly, the current game environmentbecomes a previous environment when the character enters the nextenvironment.

When the character crosses, or reaches, the load boundary, environmentmanagement engine 204 is triggered to load the next game environment.Generally, triggers to load the next game environment include situationsin which the user can see the next environment or the user will soonneed the next environment, or previous environment where appropriate, asdiscussed herein. The load boundary is a trigger that may representthese situations.

As stated above, in step 308, environment management engine 204 loadsthe next environment to either memory segment 206 or memory segment 208from the disc in optical disc control unit 134 (FIG. 1). Since it isassumed that the character is progressing forward in the game, the nextenvironment is the environment that is loaded. However, if the characterregresses in the game, the previously executed environment will bere-loaded. In other words, if the user chooses to move the characterbackwards, away from the next environment, the load boundary will becrossed in the backwards direction and environment management engine 204will load the previously executed environment in order to allow the userto return the character to the previously executed environment shouldthe user choose such a route.

In step 310, environment management engine 204 determines whether thecharacter has reached an end of the current game environment. If thecharacter has not reached the end of the current game environment,environment management engine 204 continues to query whether thecharacter has reached the end of the current game environment until apositive answer can be established. If the character has reached the endof the current game environment, the next game environment is displayedin step 312.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a process for establishing a loadboundary according to one embodiment of the invention. The FIG. 4process for establishing a load boundary relates to processes performedduring design and production of game software 202 and/or environmentmanagement engine 204. In step 402, a designer calculates a load timefor an environment. Load time is the amount of time, or duration oftime, that is required to load instructions for a particular environmentfrom a disc to memory 110. The load time for each environment typicallyvaries, depending upon the complexity of the environment. The load timefor each environment may be any length of time suitable for use with theinvention. For instance, the load times for each environment may beequivalent or approximately equivalent. As another example, successiveenvironments may require load times that are shorter in duration thanpreceding environments.

In step 404, the designer sets the minimum duration of a new environmentequal to twice the calculated load time of the other environment. Theminimum duration of the environment is measured as the least amount oftime it takes a character to traverse the environment. The minimumduration is set to twice the load time of the other environment so thatwhen the character passes through the midpoint of the environment, therewill be sufficient time to load the next environment into memory segment206 or memory segment 208.

In step 406, the designer establishes the load boundary at the midpointof the new environment. By establishing the load boundary at themidpoint of a current environment (e.g., the new environment),initiation of loading for a next environment can proceed when thismidpoint is reached or crossed by the character. Because loading time ofthe next environment is equal to or less than half of the running timeof the current environment, loading of the next environment will becompleted by the time the character reaches the end of the currentenvironment. Thus, the user can seamlessly enter the character into thenext environment without experiencing interruption or delay. Further,the user will not notice any transitioning time from the currentenvironment to the next environment. Although FIG. 4 illustrates aprocess for establishing a boundary that is at the midpoint of theenvironment, any process for establishing a boundary may be utilized inaccordance with the invention.

Due to the creation of a midpoint as a load boundary, the user can movethe character to any one of many environments from a particularmidpoint. In other words, the character need not move from the currentenvironment to the next environment in a linear manner. As discussedherein, the user does not necessarily proceed to the immediate successorenvironment with respect to level of difficulty. The midpoint of eachenvironment is far enough away from the other environments thatinstructions for that game environment will be loaded to memory segment206 or memory segment 208 by the time the character reaches one of theother environments.

In another embodiment of the invention, continuation points may beestablished. Continuation points trigger the process of loading the nextenvironment to continue, or otherwise be maintained. Thus, when thecharacter crosses continuation points, the next environment continues tobe loaded into level memory 206 or level memory 208. In this embodiment,loading of the next environment may cease if the character fails tocross a particular continuation point. As many or as few continuationpoints as desired may be established in any game environment. Thecontinuation points may act as a trigger to continue the nextenvironment loading process and/or the continuation points may beutilized to help monitor the position of the character.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of game environments according to one embodiment ofthe invention. The user is allowed to move character 508 towardsenvironment “V” 510 via virtual hallway 510 a, “W” 512 via virtualhallway 512 a, “Y” 514 via virtual hallway 514 a, or “Z” 516 via virtualhallway 516 a. Thus, the user can move character 508 to any number ofenvironments from load boundary 502 in environment “X” 506. While theuser can move character 508 to any number of environments, the user cansee only two environments at a time, as well as a low resolution of athird environment, where desired, or as otherwise appropriate.

Character 508 crosses load boundary 502 into one of the virtualhallways. The virtual hallway that character 508 enters indicates to theenvironment management engine 204 which environment should be loadednext. For instance, if character 508 enters virtual hallway 514 a,environment management engine 204 loads environment “V” 514 to memorysegment 206 or memory segment 208. Other environments may have more orfewer virtual hallways. In FIG. 5, for example, environment “V” 514 onlyhas two virtual hallways (not shown) because character 508 can only movetowards environment “X” 506 or environment “W” 512 from environment “V”514. Each virtual hallway is a defined area, such as a pathway.Accordingly, character 508 cannot traverse outside the virtual hallway,directly to another virtual hallway, for example.

Seamless transitioning from one environment to another is accomplishedby switching back and forth between game environments stored in memorysegment 206 and memory segment 208. Because there are two or more memorysegments 206 and 208, the user's character can be in one level andeither one other level or no other level is visible to the user. Byconfiguring memory 110 to include memory segment 206 and memory segment208, a “virtual hallway,” such as the virtual hallways illustrated inFIG. 5, is created. Unlike traditional “hallways,” the virtual hallwayis a level unto itself. Accordingly, each environment essentially has noborders. The user moves the character from one environment to anotherenvironment without delay or interruption in game play.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a process for loading game softwarefor the next environment in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention. In step 602, environment management engine 204 identifies thenext environment 602. The next environment may be any environmentaccessible to the character from the current environment. In otherwords, the next environment is not necessarily the next immediatesuccessor environment following the current environment. The nextenvironment may skip an environment or level, skip two environments,skip no environments, and so on.

In step 604, environment management engine 204 identifies an availablememory segment. In one embodiment, one of memory segment 206 and memorysegment 208 does not include the current environment. In step 606,environment management engine 204 loads the next environment to theavailable memory segment. For example, memory segment 206 (FIG. 2) maycontain a previously executed environment and thus, is available toreceive the next environment, while memory segment 208 stores thecurrently executing environment.

When the midpoint of the currently executed environment is crossed bythe character, environment management engine 204 loads the nextenvironment into memory segment 206 over the previously executedenvironment. As discussed herein, if the user causes the character toturn around and run back towards the previously executed environment,the character would cross the midpoint load boundary again, in theopposite direction. The midpoint load boundary being crossed by thecharacter causes the previously executed environment to be loaded tomemory segment 206 again.

Depending upon the location of the character with respect to themidpoint, the user can observe the currently executed environment andeither the next environment or the previous environment. In other words,if the character is in a location in the current environment prior tothe midpoint thereof, the user can view the previous environment as wellas the current environment. However, if the user's character is locatedin the current environment after the midpoint of the currentenvironment, the user can see the next environment ahead, as well as thecurrent environment, but not the previous environment.

In order to accomplish this type of display prior to completion ofloading the previous or the next environment, a portion of theparticular environment is displayed before or after the currentenvironment, depending upon the location of the character. In otherwords, only a fraction of the particular environment towards which thecharacter is progressing is displayed to the user. Thus, the user canobserve the particular environment. Since an environment will be loadedand ready to be fully displayed by the time the character reaches theparticular environment, the character can enter the particularenvironment when the particular environment is reached by the character.

In step 608, the next environment is run at the cessation of the currentenvironment. As discussed herein, the next environment is loaded whenthe character crosses the load boundary of the currently executingenvironment. Thus, when the character reaches the end of the currentlyexecuting environment, the next environment is already loaded and isready to run. By dynamically loading each next environment, the userexperiences smooth game play since no pause or interruption in the gameoccurs. As discussed herein, traditionally, the user waited for the nextenvironment to load at the conclusion of the current environment, a“loading” or blank screen displayed to the user during this game delay.The invention offers smooth game play to the user by pre-loading thenext environment, avoiding the game interruptions and delays of priorart gaming software.

In one embodiment of the invention, three environments, or portions ofthe environments, may be displayed at a particular time. In order toaccomplish the presentation of three levels at a time, low resolutionversions of particular environments are displayed. In other words, lowresolution versions of previous levels or levels that the user should beable to see from any environment are displayed.

For example, as a character proceeds through a city, two environments ofthe city are viewable at a time, as discussed herein. However, the usershould be able to see the tops of the buildings within the city from anyenvironment within the city. Accordingly, low resolution versions of thetops of buildings are displayed to the user in addition to the two otherenvironments.

In addition, as a character moves through an environment, variousdetails related to that environment may be loaded to memory 110 andreleased as appropriate. For instance, speech for a specific person inthe environment may be triggered if the character approaches thespecific person. The software for speech for the specific person isloaded to memory 110 and executed when the character approaches theperson. Depending upon the current environment, the software for speechfor the person may be loaded to memory segment 206 or memory segment208. When the character moves away from the person, the software forspeech for that person is released. Conversely, if the character failsto approach the person, speech software for the person is not loaded tomemory 110. Thus, details can be added to the particular environmentwithout taxing the system by utilizing vast amounts of memory.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a process for preventing a user fromviewing non-environment display according to one embodiment of theinvention. In step 702, environment management engine 204 displays anenvironment. The environment may be a currently executed environment ora next environment, for which execution is commencing.

In step 704, environment management engine 204 determines whether thecharacter has passed the load boundary. If the character has not passedthe load boundary, environment management engine 204 continues toinquire as to whether or not the load boundary has been passed by thecharacter until the character has passed the load boundary. Once thecharacter has passed the load boundary, the environment managementengine 204 loads the next environment to memory segment 206 or memorysegment 208, in step 706.

In step 708, environment management engine 204 determines whether thecharacter has reached the end of the environment being displayed in step702. If the character has not reached the end of the environment,environment management engine 204 continues to monitor the position ofthe character in order to determine when the character reaches the endof the environment. When the character has reached the end of theenvironment, environment management engine 204 determines whether thenext environment is ready for display, in step 710. If the nextenvironment is ready for display, environment management engine 204displays the next environment, in step 702. The FIG. 7 process continuesuntil the game ends.

However, as shown in FIG. 7, if the next environment is not ready fordisplay, environment management engine 204 restricts the character'smovement, in step 712. For example, environment management engine 204may cause the character to trip and fall, and to be unmovable by theuser. Once the character's movement has been restricted, such as bytripping and falling, environment management engine 204 continues toquery whether the next environment is ready for display (step 710).

If the next environment becomes ready for display, the next environmentis displayed, in step 702, and the character is once again movable. Thenext environment may be delayed with respect to availability for displaydue to an old system, for example, that takes longer than expected toload the next environment. As another example, the DVD ROM may have askip or other problem that causes delays in loading the nextenvironment. Any number of problems may contribute to a delay in loadingthe next environment.

However, if the next environment fails to become available for display,the character will remain unmovable, indicating to the user that thereis a system 100 malfunction of some type. Most commonly, the user's DVDROM is severely scratched or permanently damaged, preventing properloading of the next environment. Further, the user's DVD ROM driveitself may be damaged or destroyed, precluding loading of the nextenvironment. Any number of problems may prevent loading of the nextenvironment altogether. Accordingly, the character remains unmovable bythe user in such a scenario in order to prevent the user from viewingnon-environment display. Because the DVD ROM, DVD ROM drive, etc. isruined, the user is unable to play the game regardless. Thus, renderingthe character unmovable does not present an obstacle to commencement ofthe game.

The invention has been explained above with reference to specificembodiments. Other embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in theart in light of this disclosure. The invention may readily beimplemented using configurations other than those described in thepreferred embodiments above. Additionally, the invention may effectivelybe used in conjunction with systems other than the one described above.Therefore, these and other variations upon the described embodiments areintended to be covered by the invention, which is limited only by theappended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for creating dynamic loading gamesoftware, comprising: calculating a load time of a game environment;setting a duration of another game environment that is equal to at leasttwice the calculated load time of the game environment; establishing aload boundary at a midpoint of the other game environment; andtriggering the game environment to be loaded when a character in theother game environment crosses the load boundary.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein load times for the game environment, the other gameenvironment, and a next game environment are equivalent.
 3. The methodof claim 1, wherein load times for the game environment, the other gameenvironment, and a next game environment are not equivalent.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the load time of the game environmentincreases as a level of difficulty increases.
 5. The method of claim 1,further comprising displaying the game environment when the characterreaches an end of the other game environment.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein a portion of the game environment is displayed while thecharacter traverses the other game environment.
 7. The method of claim1, wherein triggering the game environment to be loaded furthercomprises restricting movement of the character when the characterreaches an end of the other game environment, if the loading of the gameenvironment is not complete.
 8. The method of claim 1, whereintriggering the game environment to be loaded further comprisescontinuing loading the game environment if the character crosses acontinuation point of the other game environment.
 9. The method of claim1, wherein triggering the game environment to be loaded furthercomprises ceasing loading of the game environment if the character failsto cross a continuation point of the other game environment.
 10. Anelectronic-readable medium having embodied thereon a program, theprogram being executable by a machine to perform a method for creatingdynamic loading game software, comprising: calculating a load time of agame environment; setting a duration of another game environment that isequal to at least twice the calculated load time of the gameenvironment; establishing a load boundary at a midpoint of the othergame environment; and triggering the game environment to be loaded whena character in the other game environment crosses the load boundary. 11.The electronic-readable medium of claim 10, further comprisingdisplaying the game environment when the character reaches an end of theother game environment.
 12. The electronic-readable medium of claim 10,wherein a portion of the game environment is displayed while thecharacter traverses the other game environment.
 13. Theelectronic-readable medium of claim 10, wherein triggering the gameenvironment to be loaded further comprises restricting movement of thecharacter when the character reaches an end of the other gameenvironment, if the loading of the game environment is not complete. 14.The electronic-readable medium of claim 10, wherein triggering the gameenvironment to be loaded further comprises continuing loading the gameenvironment if the character crosses a continuation point of the othergame environment.
 15. A system for creating dynamic loading gamesoftware, comprising: means for calculating a load time of a gameenvironment; means for setting a duration of another game environmentthat is equal to at least twice the calculated load time of the gameenvironment; means for establishing a load boundary at a midpoint of theother game environment; and means for triggering the game environment tobe loaded when a character in the other game environment crosses theload boundary.